


Poison in the Blood

by lea_hazel



Category: Cinders
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Emotional Manipulation, Fractured Fairy Tale, Gen, Marriage of Convenience, Moral Ambiguity, Sister-Sister Relationship, Step-siblings, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-18
Updated: 2012-08-18
Packaged: 2017-11-12 09:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/489518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_hazel/pseuds/lea_hazel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cinders has finally achieved all that she could have ever hoped for. Well, almost all. Looking back, she's still certain she made all the right decisions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poison in the Blood

**Author's Note:**

> This snippet is based on one of the canonical "independent woman" endings. For those who would rather discover all endings on their own, it will be either spoilery or incomprehensible.

In the end, what frustrated her was how close she came to making everything right. She was just a stone's throw away from everything she could have possibly wanted, it was in her grasp. Just as she felt herself closing in on her goal, it slipped through her fingers and was lost. She had won; there was no doubt in her mind about that. Yet the completeness of her victory made the cracks in her perfect vision of the future stand out all the more starkly.

Cinders turned over from her side to her back, casting a glance at her husband, peacefully asleep in the bed next to her. He had learned to sleep through her tossing and turning, just as he'd learned to live with her other, more occasional, quirks and vagaries. It was one of the things that made their marriage so smooth and seamless. Like everything else in the household, their relationship was run with crisp efficiency.

Lost sleep didn't get in the way of their marriage, and didn't make a dent in any of her plans. Mornings proceeded just the same, whether she'd slept the night before or not. Wake up, dress her hair, descend to the dining room for breakfast; the servants had learned through long years and practice how to prepare everything just so, without her constant supervision. No, most of her days were spent courting intrigue with her sisters.

After all these years, they still refused to accept that she had done what was best. Instead of reaching out and grasping after their dreams, they squandered the precious gift she'd given them, tossed away the freedom she sacrificed so much to earn for them. And it was hard-won, oh, yes. She had done what she did -- and she didn't regret it for a moment -- as much for Sophia and Gloria as for her own independence. Why they refused to appreciate her efforts was beyond her.

What selfish, spoiled girls. For years they suffered under their mother's yoke, reacting to nothing she said and did, except to redirect all her bile and venom at their stepsister. Cinders herself had borne the brunt of their bitterness. Yet they were so shattered by their mother's wicked treatment, so sad and lonely and broken, that she couldn't help but feel sympathy for them. How could she look at them, and not want what's best for them?

So she reached out to them, gently, with a kind word and a nurturing hand. And, far from making them take responsibility for their own fate, as she herself had done, Cinders chose to assume the burden of securing their future. In the interest of making peace, as a gesture of compassion, she had shouldered the responsibility of doing what had to be done. In return, her loving sisters turned on her almost immediately.

There was some small comfort in it, though. Even through the bitter haze of treachery and ingratitude, Cinders was genuinely glad to see them cooperating. Through their constant efforts to depose her as mistress of the house, they had learned to treat each other with kindness and forgiveness. Even as their enemy, she had taught them more than Carmosa could ever have hoped to.

Through their staunch rivalry, Cinders was glad, at least, that her sisters had each other. That was why it stung all the more. She had achieved almost everything she had set out to, attained everything she hoped, except the affection and trust of her sisters. Things had been going so well, they were opening up to her, revealing their vulnerable side. She had been so close to having it all.

Sophia suspected first, naturally. Despite how she constantly put herself down, back in those dark days, she had always been brighter and more curious than Gloria. She had no difficulty piecing it together. Perhaps Cinders had been too honest with her. Maybe if she had sheltered her more, the harsh reality would not have marred their budding friendship. Eventually, Gloria caught on, as well. Neither of them could forgive her, not once, all through the long years.

She had only done what she thought was best, thought Cinders sadly, rolling over in her bed to glance at the polished brass clock on her bedside table. Two hours till dawn, another sleepless night. How could they not see that? She was so much cleverer than them, so much bolder and more forward. If there had been any other way to win the house, their freedom, surely she would have found it. She had done everything to earn Carmosa's approval, but nothing was ever good enough for that woman.

In the end, it was a battle of wills. One or the other of them had to go, and Cinders had the will that won out. A foregone conclusion, really. No one who knew Cinders, who had seen how cunning and driven she was, could have expected her to fail. No, it was Carmosa who had erred, she never should have underestimated her stepdaughter, never should have stood in the way of her dreams. In a way, it was her own fault all along. And Cinders, she was blameless in this affair, she had only done just as much as she had to, to survive.

She had no remorse, only regrets.  


End file.
